1.Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward the field of electronic procurement systems. More specifically, the technology described in this patent application relates to a knowledge-based e-catalog procurement system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the most difficult problems facing Business-to-Business (B2B) Internet commerce is the lack of consistent nomenclature across suppliers. Successful business-to-consumer Internet vendors, such as Amazon.com, enjoy common identifiers in the form of International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN), for example, and Universal Price Codes (UPC), as another example. In the B2B arena, however, common identifiers are non-existent. Although the Internet provides access to a large number of supplier catalogs, the effort required to locate a particular item is highly labor intensive.
Current technology approaches available to solve the B2B business problem discussed above include: (1) creating a common nomenclature mapping (e.g., Aspect); (2) utilizing specialized search technology, such as available from Ariba, Inc.; (3) standardizing and or scrubbing vendor data; and (3) using relational technology. All of these approaches suffer from several disadvantages, however.
In the case of nomenclature mapping, such as Aspect, the solution is very expensive. Additionally, data must be preloaded into the system, a task representing a significant cost in data-entry person-hours. Finally, this solution is costly to maintain. Each of the other approaches also suffers from limitations, as further outlined at pages 4-5 of the IntelleCat Functional Specification, which is included in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION. The IntelleCat Functional Specification provides a detailed functional description of a product called IntelleCat, which is the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and which is a knowledge-based e-catalog procurement system.